tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684268458725484615.post928533624961373216..comments2024-01-06T06:04:33.867-05:00Comments on JASON JACK MILLER: 2011 WRITING PERSPECTIVE A Whole Six Months Later (You've gotta be slightly stupid.)Jason Jack Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13095882670283762866noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684268458725484615.post-38159530935272124932011-06-05T09:15:47.896-04:002011-06-05T09:15:47.896-04:00Time is the commodity. Time is what we're all ...Time is the commodity. Time is what we're all fighting to get more of. As a writer I've wasted a lot of it heading down unproductive paths--querying, pitching, bashing published writers, etc.. It's difficult to realize that time wasn't wasted if it helped me arrive as this juncture of my career where I have the confidence to sidestep the all-holy 'process.'<br /><br />There's no mistake I admire musicians. There's a freedom that comes with making music that we, as writers, didn't have available to us until very recently. Musicians put their work out there--letting fans decide if it's epic or forgettable. Writers have never had this luxury until recently.<br /><br />These are the kinds of questions I kept asking myself:<br /><br />How could I ever find an audience if my work wasn't ever being read?<br /><br />How can I ever make a name for myself if editors won't touch no-name writers?<br /><br />Why, if writing is my passion, must I spend so much time doing so much that has nothing to do with writing?<br /><br />Some writers hate this approach and this attitude. It's bucks the system and a lot of writers like to think of themselves as deviant. But they're afraid if the step away from legacy publishing they'll be branded with a scarlet letter. When it comes down to failing in front of gatekeepers and failing in front of readers, they'll take the gatekeeper because there's an assumed legitimacy with gatekeepers. And most are legit. But some small press editors have the same degree that I have, and the same, or less writing experience. This is a gatekeeper. Or how about the editor at a well-known magazine who started in the mail room. I don't want my doctor to have started in the mail room. Or what about the many, many agents who became agents to get their OWN book published? There are a lot of those out there. What's the requirement for being an agent? Must love to read? A degree in a writing-related field?<br /><br />I could become an agent tomorrow with LESS experience than it will have taken me to get a novel published. I have MET agents who entered the biz with bachelors degrees. Greener than Kermit the Frog. This IS NOT a person I want handling my book. I don't get the unabashed gatekeeper love from some writers.<br /><br />But we, as writers, lie for a living. Some writers have gotten really good at lying to themselves if they think they are the next Robert B. Parker or Joe Hill. The world simply isn't big for authors who won't ever sell out their advances when there are Snookis and Lauren Conrads and Nicole Richies out there who will sell books.Jason Jack Millerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13095882670283762866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684268458725484615.post-56157273941845913992011-06-04T19:45:48.265-04:002011-06-04T19:45:48.265-04:00You hit it right on the nose when you referred to ...You hit it right on the nose when you referred to the time spent writing vs. the time spent pitching, querying, etc. I spent hours and hours this week putting out 4 queries due to formatting problems and printer problems...and I'm itching to start my next book. I'd self-publish if I were more confident about the process. I've attended a couple of your workshops--any suggestions for self-publishing wannabes? Maybe you could offer a workshop at the next Pennwriters Conf. Thanks for this post!janhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00034650034053143388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684268458725484615.post-38031743760493547532011-06-04T12:37:28.897-04:002011-06-04T12:37:28.897-04:00I guess some people just don't want to let go ...I guess some people just don't want to let go of the myth that writers are supposed to be perpetually struggling and unhappy. It's like being a musician who finds success and is immediately decried as a sellout: as soon as a writer finds a path which makes him or her happy, everyone piles on with their own reasons as to why it was a stupid move. I still have plenty of my own bad days, but I refuse to regret doing something that gets my work in front of readers and allows me to focus on writing the next book rather than the next query letter. Writing is an art, but being a writer is a business. And to anyone who has found a path that satisfies both of those faces of creativity, I say: more power to you.Chris Stouthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02565064688656710354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5684268458725484615.post-28638430730157960752011-06-04T12:28:44.851-04:002011-06-04T12:28:44.851-04:00Funny ... just posted the message below in comment...Funny ... just posted the message below in comments on my website, in answer to yours. Figured I'd post it here too. It's seem appropriate.<br /><br />Thanks for the plug, the link & the props! Keep beein' "slightly stupid"! We all should!<br /><br />"Jason … sometimes it’s hard to hear the voice of sanity & reason (read the Universe) over the chaotic cacophony of daily life. We have so many things vying for our attention. I’m happy to hear Joe “spoke” to you thorough one of my photos & assisted you in redirecting your energy & focus. He’s always had that effect … on so many people. Even now.<br /><br />Thanks again for the accolades. The book idea seems to be taking on a life of its own. Now it’s about trying to get it done in tandem with the chaos of my own life. Ruminating. Ruminating.<br /><br />I’m glad I “met” you too. Keep writing. Keep plugging. Do what makes you happy."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com